A Light Reborn
by Metroid Life
Summary: Xion comes back to life, and her only memory is Roxas's face.
1. Chapter 1

Xion wondered through the white landscape, searching for a sign, a landmark, _anything_ that might remind her of who she was. All she could remember was a blond-haired boy, staring at her with fear and sadness written on his face. She knew he was someone important to her, but nothing else. "Who are you?" she asked. The emptiness didn't answer, of course, but it did change. A white creature came out of nowhere, running off. "Wait!"

Hearing her, the creature turned, and Xion realized it was shorter than her. It wore a strange, grey helmet, with six slits for it to see out of. It wore a white jumpsuit with very long sleeves, ending with small, black hands. The hands quickly grabbed the swords around his waist, ready for battle. Xion backed away slowly, saying, "I don't want to fight. I just want to know were I am." The creature relaxed, saying in a gruff voice, "This is the Realm of Nothingness. How did you come to be here?

"I don't know. Is there a way out?"

The creature nodded. "Yes. Follow me." He walked off, and the whiteness, or rather, nothingness shimmered and he disappeared. Xion ran after him, and suddenly she was in a city. It was completely empty, and the only source of light was the neon signs on the buildings, and the glow of the moon above. Strangely enough, it was heart-shaped. Ignoring this, the creature walked toward the nearby castle. It was complete white, with strange,

heart-like symbols on it. It made Xion uneasy, but she didn't know why. Running after her guide, she asked, "Who lives in that castle?"

He replied, "The Organization. I'm taking you to meet them." A memory flashed through her, one of men (and one woman) in black cloaks like hers. She couldn't remember any names, but she knew that they were evil. She stopped, so did the creature. "I'm not going back there!"

The creature sighed. "Well, I know my Superiors have ordered me to capture or kill anyone seen wearing our coat. If you won't come willingly, then I will have to destroy you." He unsheathed his swords, slashing at Xion so fast she could barely see it, much less dodge his attack. She braced herself for the end… which didn't come. A flash of light blinded the creature, making him miss. The light shined all around her, but quickly changed into a weapon. It seemed familiar, as though she had used it all her life. What confused her was the blade, or the lack of one; it ended in a giant key. The creature gasped. "The Keyblade!" He seemed scared, but he attacked anyway, trying to cut off her head. Xion easily blocked him, moving faster than she thought possible. She stuck in return, only to be stopped by his sword. Undaunted, she slashed relentlessly, pummeling his defenses. Finally, his swords broke under the stress, and Xion pinned him to a wall.

"Alright. Tell me what you know about the Organization. What do they want with me?" The creature didn't seem worried at all, but he answered anyway. "The Organization seeks Kingdom Hearts, so that we Nobodies may have our own hearts. In order to do that, we needed a Keyblade wielder, like yourself. We had only two: Roxas and you, Xion. However, both of you left the Organization for some reason, and from what heard, the two of you fought, and Roxas won." Xion didn't really understand this. His words seemed to be the truth, but who was this Roxas? Surely not the boy she remembered. She knew that he was a friend, but from the sound of it, this Roxas seemed to be her enemy. "So, who are you?" The "Nobody", as he called himself, chuckled. "I am one of the Samurai Nobodies, servants of Roxas, at least until he left. Now we specifically serve our leader, Xemnas."

"I meant you name."

"None of the lesser Nobodies, like me, remember our names. Only our Superiors remember their true names."

"What! You can't remember your past either?" At that point, a blue fireball flew at them. Xion managed to dodge it, but the Samurai wasn't so lucky. The ball exploded, destroying him completely. Xion looked for it's source, seeing a boy in a black cloak, with silver hair and a eerie sword. The sword's blade looked like a bat wing, and the pommel looked like a blue eye. Seeing Xion, the boy snarled and leaped at her. Xion blocked his first attack, and the two struggled for a moment, until both of them jumped back, waiting the other to strike first. Xion vaguely remembered someone like him, but he was wearing a blindfold. The boy glared at her in hate. Hesitantly, she asked, "Are you… Roxas?" The boy sighed dismally. "No. You couldn't be more wrong. I don't have a name."

Xion gasped. "Just like that Samurai! You work for the Organization, don't you!" The boy looked bewildered. "Wait, you're not with the Organization?" He relaxed, and his sword disappeared. Xion relaxed, and her Keyblade did the same. "So, why are you here?" the boy asked. Xion told him all she knew and remembered. The boy sighed again. "Well, I don't know the person you searching for, and I never met Roxas either."

He went on to tell her about his past: He is a Replica of the Keyblade wielder Riku, created by the Organization member, Vexen. He didn't know why he was made, other than to be a pawn in the Organization's plans. He also fought the real Riku, and lost. He thought he had died, but then he woke up here, on The World That Never Was. He didn't know how he got here, but he quickly realized that this was where the Organization lived, and that he could get revenge on them for what they had done. The problem was that he couldn't get into their castle, so he was destroying lesser Nobodies in hopes of drawing them out, where he could fight them. "I don't think I could beat them on my own, though. Do you think you could help me, Xion?" While he was explaining this, Xion was trying to figure out what to call him. Riku… Replica… "Well, I'm sure I can help you, Repliku." The boy froze. "What did you call me?" Xion grinned. "Well, you're a Replica who's based off of Riku, so the name seemed right." The boy, now Repliku, sputtered angrily. "You're not calling me that! Any name is better than that!"

Xion kept grinning. "Well, I have to call you something so… how about Susan?" The boy, now Susan, groaned. "Fine. You can call me…" he shuddered. "Repliku. Now, come on. I'll take us somewhere safe." A dark portal opened up in front of him, and they walked in.

* * *

A man in a black cloak watched all of this, and disappeared into his own portal, hurrying to report to his master.


	2. Chapter 2

Repliku and Xion walked out of the portal, staring at their new surroundings. They were in a enormous dark cave, next to a lake. What was strange was that the lake was green, and every instinct Xion had told her she shouldn't drink it. "Repliku, I thought you said this place was safe!" He shrugged. "Well, it's safe from the Organization. Besides, it's not so bad when you get used to it."

"Where are we anyway?" He chuckled. "Welcome to the Underworld." Xion looked blank. "You've never heard of it?" Xion shook her head. "Well, the Underworld is where people go when they die. At least, the ones who don't become Heartless or Nobodies."

Xion looked around. "So, if we die, we'll show up here?" Repliku shrugged.

"Well, from what I can tell, we've already died once, so I don't know. Anyway, some parts of it are really nice. Follow me." They walked over to a boat, where a skeleton waited next to a boat, along with several ghostly figures. Xion whispered, "Who's that?" Repliku waved at the skeleton, saying, "That Charon. He takes souls across the river to be judged. He'll take us too." It seemed he was right. Charon accepted him with a grin.(He didn't really have a choice though; skulls don't do anything but grin.) He looked curiously at Xion for a second, then shrugged and got on the boat too. As the boat slowly made it's way across the River Styx, Repliku explained everything there is to know about the Underworld. When people died, their souls show up here, and are ferried to the other side of the river by Charon. There they are judged, based on the lives they've led.

Those who were evil are sent to Tartarus, a pit of hate and torture. The good are sent to Elysium, a chaotic realm of eternal joy. Those in the middle, nether good or evil, are sent to the Asphodel Garden, a field where, aside from the flowers, there is nothing. Nothing good or bad, just a dull existence.

Then there is Hades. He is the god of the dead, and he's the one who judges them. Aside from that, he doesn't do much other than plot and try to kill Hercules. However, he always knows when someone arrives in the Underworld, so they would probably meet him soon.

By that point, they'd made to the other side of the river. The dead wordlessly walked on, heading to whatever fate Hades had in store for them.

Repliku and Xion followed, until they came to a large empty cavern. The only thing notable about it was it's size and the three tunnels it leads to. All of them were covered in blue fire. The second they were all in the cavern, a pillar of blue fire came out of the ground, revealing someone standing in the middle of it. He walked out, revealing he had blue skin and fire instead of hair. He waved at Repliku, then moved on to the dead. Hades stared at the first one, looked deep in his soul, and saw every fault, every misdeed, every act of valor and kindness. In short, he saw the man for who he was. He then pointed to the leftmost tunnel. To Elysium. The man seemed to weep in joy for a moment, then walked into the tunnel, the flames not burning him at all. Hades moved on to the next. He went to Asphodel, a blank expression on his face. The next two followed him, and most of the others went to Elysium. The final two Hades sent to Tartarus. They weren't to happy about this and tried to escape. Suddenly, the flames blocking off Tartarus disappeared, and a howling wind came out, grabbing the two and carrying them away to a eternity of torture. The fire rekindled, and Hades focused on Repliku. "Well, now that that's over, who's your girlfriend, little copy?"

The Repliku grimaced. "She's not my girlfriend, and I told you to stop calling me that!" Hades shrugged, not caring either way. He turned his attention to Xion, staring deep into her soul. "You can't remember anything, can you? Of course, I could fix that." Xion brightened. "You can fix my memories?"

"Of course, my little nothing. Care to make a deal?" Xion considered this. "Well, what do you want from me?"

"Oh, nothing much. See, there's this guy named Hercules, who I'd really like to see dead. I don't know if you can take him, but if you give it a shot, I'll see what I can do about your memories."

Overjoyed, Xion asked where she could find Hercules. She didn't wonder why Hades wanted him dead, she didn't consider the ramifications of her actions would cause. As for Repliku, Hades had always been good to him, and so he decided if he wanted someone dead, he probably had a good reason. Charon took them back across the Styx, giving them time to think about what Hades told them:

"You'll probably find him at Olympus Coliseum. You know, the building with the statues in front of it. He's not very good with a sword, but his punches… well, lets just say you'll want to dodge them. Oh yeah, he's pretty much invincible if he starts glowing, so I'd just stay away from him then." On the other side of the river, they saw a giant door, and behind it, a glowing stairway, leading to the realm of the living. They couldn't see the end of it, but they pressed on anyway.

* * *

"So, Xion has returned." The hooded one nodded, and Xemnas smirked. "She hasn't lost her memory completely, but Namine could change that. Of course, that would mean we have to find her and Ansem as well." The others in the room fidgeted; they knew Riku and Ansem were working together, and they also knew most of them wouldn't stand a chance against someone who beat Roxas. Xemnas looked at the hooded one. "Saix, I want you and Axel to find Namine. As for Xion, Demyx will look for her. Saix portaled away without a word. Axel and Demyx both looked somewhat hesitant, but they left as well. It's not like they had a choice.


	3. Chapter 3

Xion and Repliku quickly found the Coliseum, but things were more complicated than she thought. The only person they found there was a satyr(a goat-man, according to Repliku.) called Phil. When they explained that they wanted to fight Hercules, he burst out laughing. "Look, that last black-coated kid may have been tough, but that doesn't mean _any_ of you are good enough to take on Hercules." Alarmed, Xion asked, "Do you know who that kid was?" Phil looked thoughtful. "Well, I think his name was… Roxas. That was it." Xion gasped. "What did he look like?"

"He was a little bit taller than you, had these huge blue eyes, and yellow hair. Had a giant key for a weapon, too. You can't miss him."

Suddenly, a horrible howling filled the air, quickly followed by terrified screams. The trio ran into the Coliseum, where the spectators were frozen in fear. Well, they were really just frozen; they had been attacked by the Ice Titan. The two warriors quickly summoned their weapons, but suddenly a giant slab of ice fell on top of them. Xion managed to dodge it, but the Repliku and Phil were trapped beneath it. Well, for a few seconds, anyway; one of Repliku's dark fireballs quickly freed them. The Ice Titan hissed in anger and fired dozens of ice shards flew at them. Repliku grabbed Phil and jumped out of the way. Xion simply deflected the attack with her Keyblade. The Titan stretched its arms out, as though to grab her. The air grew colder, until it encased her in ice.

* * *

Silence filled the air as the two walked through the forest, but Axel wouldn't have noticed anything, even if Saix was yelling in his ear. He was to busy thinking. How could Xion come back? Did she really even die? That's what Xemnas said, but who could be sure? More importantly, what should he do about it? Saix was also thinking, but mostly he was just wondering how Riku would fight and why Axel hadn't said anything. He was usually more talkative. They were thinking so hard, really, it's no surprise they ran into a tree.

* * *

Cold. So, so cold. I can't see. I can't feel anything but the cold, so painful it's like I'm on fire… Fire. I think I remember fire. Yes, _he_ used it. Made his weapons out of it. Showed me how to use it…

"Magic isn't too hard, really. You have to be careful, though. If you lose control of a fire, it'll destroy you too. But I think you understand that. Right, Xion?" Yes, I remember him. His name was… Axel.

* * *

Repliku dodged another blast of ice and ran at the Titan's leg. He stabbed into it, but it did no damage. Using his sword as a foothold, Repliku jumped up to the monster's knee, then waist, until he finally jumped up to it's face. The Titan tried to grab him, but he was too quick. Focusing his power, Repliku unleashed a huge Dark Firaga. The titanic explosion sent him flying back into the stands, and completely destroyed the Ice Titan's head. The monster collapsed. Repliku smirked, reveling in his victory, when he realized it was a lot warmer for some reason. The torches around the Coliseum came back to life, and all the cold disappeared. Then he realized it wasn't disappearing; it was _moving._

It formed a mist around the Ice Titan, and slowly, the air began to freeze, then twist, then finally to hiss. The Titan rose, glaring at Repliku with it's newly formed eyes. It waved its hand, sending out another barrage of ice shards. He blocked it with a dark barrier, and ran at the Titan again. He slipped instantly; the ground was frozen. The Titan dropped another slab of ice on him, pinning him to the ground. It waved its hand again, summoning a giant icicle, perfect for impaling him. The frozen spear descended on it's target, but it suddenly burst into steam. A wave of fire freed Repliku, who looked at his savior in horror. It was Xion, yes, but her Keyblade was _on fire. _The Ice Titan howled in rage, but Xion simply threw her Keyblade at it. It embedded in the Titan's chest, who looked confused. Xion snapped her finger, and the fire transformed into a raging inferno, consuming the Titan completely.


	4. Chapter 4

Hades joyfully watched the Ice Titan die from his lair. "That girl's a lot tougher than I thought. And that last attack there…now _that's_ how you fight! Hercules is dead this time!" Suddenly, a black cloaked figure portaled into the room. They stared at each other for a second, until Demyx said, "Uh, you're Hades, right?" Hades rolled his eyes. "_No_, I'm actually Zeus, you've got the wrong god." Demyx nodded gratefully. He sincerely hoped Hades would someone less evil-looking. "Well, I'm sorry to bother you, I'll just go now…" Hades groaned. "Of course I'm Hades, you fool! Now, what do you want!" Demyx backed away in fright. "W-well, I was just wondering if you've seen someone called Xion." Hades's hand ignited in flame. "No, as it turns out, I haven't. Now. Get out!" Demyx screamed and fled, yelling "Run away!"

* * *

Sora was running towards Hades's lair when someone in a black cloak rushed past him whimpering, "Run! Run away!" Sora stared for a second and said, "Ok…?"

* * *

Hercules ran into the Coliseum, ready to stop whatever monster was attacking, but it seemed someone beat him here. "Phil, what happened?"

Phil grinned at him. "You're late, Herc! That girl there just slew the Ice Titan. I've never seen anything like it!" Curious, Hercules decided to talk with this girl.

* * *

Xion collapsed into unconsciousness, her energy spent. The battle was over, but her mind wouldn't slow down; memories of Axel were flashing behind her eyelids. She barely noticed when day turned to night. She finally awoke to see a strange room, lit by torches. She was lying in a bed, covered in some material she didn't recognize. Repliku was nearby, waiting for her to wake up. "Repliku, where am I?"

"Oh, you're awake. Well, we're still in the Coliseum. I met Hercules after you fainted. He asked me about the battle, who we were, stuff like that. He doesn't seem like a bad person, though." This only confused Xion. "Then why does Hades want him dead?" Repliku shrugged. "I don't know. Still, it is strange that he showed up right after you destroyed that ice monster. For all I know, he might have sent it after us."

Xion got up, saying, "But I thought he fought monsters like that. When we were looking for the Coliseum, everyone we asked said that Hercules is a hero who slays monsters." Repliku nodded grimly. "Yeah, I know. But maybe that's what he wanted them to think. Maybe he slays them to force the other monsters to serve him."

"You really think so?"

"I don't know, but it's the only thing that makes sense. Anyway, if he's asleep, now is probably the best time to strike."

* * *

DiZ sat in the dark room, plotting his next move. The Organization had finally come after him, or more accurately, Naminé. They wouldn't find her here at the mansion, however. After Sora awakened, Riku had taken Naminé away. DiZ would have preferred her dead, but the result was the same: The Organization couldn't find her. Still, if they were coming here, then he could use that. "So, you understand the plan, Riku?" The shadows shifted, revealing a tall man in a black cloak. "Yes. And I told you to call me Ansem." DiZ chuckled bitterly. "You may look like the Seeker of Darkness, but that isn't who you truly are. I will help you change back to normal, no matter what it takes."

"Why do you care so much about me? You certainly didn't care for Naminé or Roxas." DiZ scowled, but between the gloom and his mask, it was impossible to tell. "They are Nobodies. They don't deserve to exist. As for you, it is my fault you have this…infection, and I won't allow you to suffer for my goals." Riku stared at him for a moment, and nodded. "If we survive this battle, then we will see if that's true."

* * *

Riku walked into the mansion's foyer, grateful to be away from DiZ.

It wasn't because he hated him, or because of the man's vendetta against Nobodies. It was because every time he was near DiZ, or anything else alive, Riku could hear their heart beating. Ansem's voice would arise to torment him, to taunt him, but most of all to _tempt _him; telling him to rip out their heart… It was clear now that Ansem was some kind of Heartless, and now, so is Riku. The urge only grew with time, and Riku knew he couldn't resist his new instincts forever. What time he had left, he would use to help Sora and the others. Even so, a small part of him hoped, in every battle, that he wouldn't make it out alive. Sooner or later, a blade would pierce his dark heart, whether it be his own or his enemy's. Staring at the two Nobodies before him, he decided it wouldn't be today. He opponents didn't make idle conversation or threats; he wasn't their target. The three warriors summoned their weapons, and waited for one of them to make the first move. Saix complied by rushing at Riku, trying to cave in his skull with his claymore. Riku blocked, his first mistake. Saix was far stronger than he expected. He easily broke through Riku's guard and sent him flying across the room. Riku got up just in time to stop a chakram aimed for his head. _You need my help, don't you?_ Ignoring Ansem, Riku shot several Dark Firagas at the two Nobodies. Axel simply smirked and called up a wall of fire to protect them. As soon as the dark onslaught was finished, the fire suddenly flew at Riku, setting most of the foyer ablaze. Riku survived thanks to his Dark Shield, and now that they couldn't see him through the smoke, he had the element of surprise. _But that won't be enough, will it? You need my power! _For once, Riku thought Ansem was right. True, he could command the Darkness, but with Ansem's help, he could reach a whole new level of power. That power came with a cost, though. The more he used Ansem's power, the closer he came to being controlled by him. Seeing no other option, Riku accessed Ansem's power. A dark aura wrapped around him, and Ansem's Guardian Heartless appeared. It didn't stick around for long though; it quickly sunk into the ground to sneak attack Saix. Riku opened a portal so he could reach Axel.

* * *

Saix stared into the fire, waiting for his prey to emerge. As usual, Axel was watching everywhere else. That's how they fought; Axel watched the surroundings, while Saix focused on their enemy. It had always worked before, and the strategy was practically infallible. So it was only natural that Axel saw Riku jump out of a portal to attack.

Thinking they had found their foe, it's only natural they didn't see the Guardian strike from the shadows…


	5. Chapter 5

Axel blocked Riku's attack, but before he could do anything else, Riku vanished. Saix ran over to help him, but he didn't seem to be getting any closer. In fact, the more he ran, the darker it seemed to become, until a stabbing pain went through him. What little light remained was snuffed out as the Guardian rose up from his body. The Heartless picked up it's prey, ready to tear Saix to shreds. Saix responded by punching it in the face. The Guardian hissed in irritation and punched him back. Saix grabbed it's fist, easily holding it back. A pale light surrounded Saix, but it quickly ignited into blue fire. The Guardian backed away, fearing this unnatural light. Meanwhile, Riku's warping tactic seemed to be working. Axel couldn't keep up with him, and soon he'd die from the sheer amount of cuts Riku inflicted. That all changed in one attack. Riku warped behind him again, but this time Axel called up a wall of fire around himself, stopping Riku's assault. Now that he knew where Riku was, Axel changed the flames into dozens of chakrams, all flying at Riku. Riku jumped over the attack, but the weapons boomeranged back at him. Realizing Axel was probably controlling them, Riku summoned some Neoshadows to distract him. Laughing, Axel made two more chakrams. One of the Neoshadows was sliced in two, while the others charged at him. Riku ran at him from behind, calling his Guardian as he did so.

* * *

Saix easily deflected the Guardian's attacks. Once it realized Saix was stronger than it was, it retreated and started firing blasts of Darkness at him. Now that he was in his Berserk state, Saix simply charged through the blasts; they were too weak to even slow him down, much less hurt him. Raising his claymore, Saix sliced the pitiful Heartless in half…or so it seemed.

* * *

Riku pressed aginst Axel's chakram, trying to break through his defense. The Neoshadows tried to do the same, but Axel was keeping them at bay with a fire wall. The Guardian appeared behind Riku, ready to do his bidding. It's weaker, Riku noted, but it's probably strong enough for what I have in mind. The Guardian instantly followed his command, charging at Axel. Normally, Axel would have seen this coming and stopped the Heartless, or simply warp somewhere else. Of course, fighting a bunch of Heartless and whatever Riku had become can be very distracting. Even so, Axel did manage to shoot a jet of flame at it before the Guardian pummeled him into the ground. The Guardian doesn't feel pain and doesn't think for itself, so it kept attacking Axel, completely ignoring the fact that he managed to set it on fire. The Neoshadows, however, had realized by now that Axel didn't have a heart. Desperately searching for anything to sate their hunger, the monsters first saw Riku. Heartless do occasionally eat their weaker brethren, but Riku certainly wasn't one of those. Then they looked up, and saw a very strong heart. One tainted with darkness, fulled with pride and shame. The Neoshadows were very familiar with people like that. Their reasons didn't matter, only the method. Whatever they were trying to do, they relied on darkness. They called upon the Heartless to do their bidding, and they came joyously, like dogs expecting a treat. It's only later that the fools realize that these Heartless aren't dogs at all, but wolves that care about only one thing: their next meal.

* * *

DiZ watched the battle raging below. Now was the time to spring his trap. He pulled out one of his inventions. It looked like a black orb of some sort. He threw the "Oblivion Bomb", at the celing, unleashing a explosion that shook the whole mansion. The upper levels were completely destroyed, and the tendrils of obliterating energy spread from the epicenter of the explosion. DiZ open a portal and left, unaware of the Heartless watching his every move.

* * *

Saix charged at the Guardian, ready to kill the monster. The Guardian flew back to Riku, protecting him from Axel's fireballs. Axel stood up, winceing at his broken ribs. "That pet of yours is pretty tough, Riku. But you can't beat both of us." Riku chuckled.

"I don't have to." His Guardian disappeared as he concentrated, focusing his dark power. Saix charged at him, thinking he was defenseless. He couldn't be more wrong. Riku considered the Guardian a crutch. It gave his enemies something to fight, but it was, at best, a distraction. It had no power but what he gave it, so as it grew stronger, he grew weaker. Now that he had his full strength, what chance did Saix have?

* * *

Saix slashed at Riku, fully expecting to see him sliced in two, preferably with blood splattering everywhere. So he was rather disappointed(and enraged) when Riku had the audacity to block his attack.

* * *

Riku held back Saix's attack with little effort. Saix struggled against his blade for a moment, then Riku blasted him with a Dark Firaga at point-blank range. Glancing up as Saix went flying, Riku saw the energy from Ansem's bomb was creeping closer. He was running out of time. Foucusing the rest of his power, he portaled outside the mansion, then covered it in a wave of darkness, preventing anyone else from leaving by portal. DiZ appeared next to him. "Well, I suppose we should find somewhere else to hide." He started to walk away, and Riku asked,

"Do you think this will kill them?" DiZ shrugged.

"Perhaps, but we are not staying to find out."


	6. Chapter 6

Under the cover of night, Repliku and Xion snuck out of the Coliseum. "Do you know where he is, Repliku?"

"Not exactly, but I overheard him telling Phil that he was leaving the city tonight. If we don't face him now, there's no telling if we will ever find him again. We should split up. That way we-" He was cut off when Hades appeared in a burst of smoke.

"Don't worry about finding Erkules, I'll take you right to him." With that said, he surrounded them in smoke, blinding them. When they could see again, Hades was gone, and Hercules was right in front of them. Wasteing no time, Repliku blasted him with a dark fireball and summoned his sword. Xion charged in with her Keyblade drawn. Caught off guard, Hercules was hit in the stomach by the blast, and barely managed to draw his sword in time to block Xion. Repliku jumped over the two, then charged at the hero, ready to stab him in the back. Hercules knocked Xion away and parried Repliku's attack, taking the opportunity to grab him by the arm and throw him at Xion. He crashed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Hercules watched them warily. Seeing them stand up and get ready to fight again, he asked,

"Why are you attacking me? If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to hurt me." Xion was about to say as much, but Repliku cut her off, saying,

"We were just testing you. I want to see how powerful you are."

Hercules relaxed and smiled.

"Oh really? All right, if that's what you want, then I hope you two are ready!" He glanced at Xion. "Are you sure you're ok? The last time I saw you, you were unconscious from fighting the Ice Titan. I don't want to fight you if you're not at your best."

Xion managed a smile, and said,

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." She charged at Hercules again, and he braced himself for her attack. However, this time she simply jumped over him. He spun around, just in time to block her Keyblade when she landed. He quickly overpowered her, knocking her back. Repliku blasted him with a volley of dark fireballs, hitting him in the back. He stumbled in surprise, giving Xion the opening she needed to hit Hercules in the head, knocking him to the ground. Shaking his head, he tried to stand up, but a giant fireball came out of nowhere, sending him flying into a nearby building. Before he could move, three more quickly hit the building, causing it to collapse. Hades suddenly appeared next to Repliku.

"Well, you two are doing a good job. Now, I pushed things along a bit, so just finish him off, and I'll fix your memory." The two of them walked over to the building and started digging through the wreckage. They quickly found Hercules, unconscious, and someone else as well, a old man lying on the ground, covered in dust and wood. Hades looked at the old man and shrugged. Seeing the two's horrified expressions, he said, "Ok, so he's dead, but I did him a favor. He wasn't going to live much longer anyway. Now, see Herc here? He should be like that too. Dead. Get to it." Xion looked at him uncertainly.

"But you just killed a harmless old man!"

"It was an accident! Look, I'll make sure he goes to Elysium, ok? He'll be happy. You kill Hercules, and I'll be happy, and then you'll get your memories, and then we'll all be happy! Well, except Hercules. He'll be dead."

Xion looked at Hercules uncertainly, and raised her Keyblade. Repliku did the same, and both of them struck at the same time. The deafening clang of metal on metal filled the air as someone blocked both of their attacks with his own blade. A blade, Xion noticed, that was identical to her own. Repliku stared at this newcomer, and backed away, muttering,

"Sora… what are you doing here?"

Seeing how nervous Repliku was, Xion backed up too, watching Sora warily. She had a feeling she knew this boy from somewhere…

Sora looked more closely at Repliku, and, to everyone's surprise, he smiled.

"Riku, is that you? What are you doing here? What happened to the King?"

Repliku shook his head.

"I'm not Riku, even if I look like him… but I suppose you don't remember me, do you, Sora?"

Sora frowned.

"You… you're not Riku?" His frown quickly changed to a snarl of anger. "Then who are you? Why are you pretending to be Riku, huh?"

Repliku was about to say something, but another voice behind Sora cut him off.

"He's probably disguised like that so he can trick you, Sora! He must be part of the Organization!"

Angry about them accusing her friend, Xion, pointed her Keyblade at the speaker, who she noticed was some kind of duck holding a wand. She said,

"We're not part of the Organization! We aren't trying to trick anyone, and we don't want to fight! I don't even know who you are!"

Sora squinted at her, and looked confused, saying,

"Do I… know you from somewhere?" He shook himself. "Well, whoever you are, I'm not going to let you hurt Hercules!"

Hades chuckled, and started to leave.

"Well, I'm sure you kids can handle this, right? No need for me to get in your way."

Xion said,

"Hades, I think we might need your help for this… Hades?" She turned around, but Hades was already gone.

* * *

Demyx watched the fight between Xion, Repliku, and Hercules from a nearby rooftop, wondering who would win. He didn't want to fight those two himself, but if Hercules beat them… Well, that would make his job a lot easier, wouldn't it? But things didn't seem to be going well for Hercules, he noted, as Xion hit him in the head with her Keyblade. Hercules tried to stand, and… Demyx shrieked and jumped into a dark portal, just in time to escape before Hades's fireballs brought down the building. Demyx hid on another building, making sure that that it was behind everyone and out of the line of fire. He watched as Sora and his friends talked with Xion and Repliku, and Hades vanished, leaving the two of them to fight Sora on their own. As everyone started fighting, Demyx watched closely, so closely that he didn't notice someone appear behind him. "So, kid, what do you want to bet that key-wielding brat and his friends are going to win this one?" Demyx jumped in shock and spun around, seeing Hades standing right next to him. "I don't want to get involved in this fight, you see, not after what happened last time. The girl and the little clone down there don't stand a chance… but, I'm not going to get another chance like this to off Erkules any time soon. So, you there in the cloak! It's your lucky day, because I'm going to after a once in a lifetime deal, no strings attached."

Demyx nodded nervously.

"W-what kind of deal?"

"It's simple. We wait and see who wins, and if it's this Sora kid, I'll help you get rid of him, after he's softened up a bit. But, if the girl and the clone win somehow, I'll help you knock them out, and you can take them, or whatever it is you want. And all I want for this help, is for you to kill Hercules for me. Seem fair? You kill him, you get the girl your after. What do you say?"

Demyx nodded gratefully, glad that he wasn't being set on fire.

* * *

Seeing Hades's disappearance, Repliku laughed humorlessly.

"That's typical for him. He always wants to leave things to someone else. Don't worry, Xion. It'll be ok. I've fought these guys before, but with you backing me up, I know we can win." Xion nodded, and they both charged at Sora at the same time. She changed direction at the last second and attacked the duck first, catching him by surprise. Her slash sent him flying into a nearby heap of rubble, but before she could do anything else, a dog-like creature smashed her in the face with a shield. She backed away, rubbing her nose, and the duck got back up and started shooting Fire spells at her. She jumped out of the way, firing her own spells back at him. Meanwhile, Repliku was trying to break through Sora's defenses, but no matter how quickly he moved or where he struck, Sora always blocked him. The boy jumped out of the way of one of his slashes, saying,

"You sound just like Riku, you even fight like him. Just who are you?"

Repliku sighed and lowered his sword. Seeing this, Sora's friends and Xion stopped fighting.

"You really don't remember a thing, do you? Alright, I'll tell you. I'm a Replica of Riku created by the Organization about a year ago, in a place called Castle Oblivion. They used me to test your power as part of a plan to control you by messing with your memories. But in the end you beat me, and destroyed the ones that tried to use you. Now I'm trying to destroy the Organization, with the help of Xion here. Like she said, we don't want to fight you."

"Then why are you working for Hades?"

Xion spoke up.

"He promised he would fix my memory if we killed Hercules. It's nothing personal."

"What makes you think you can trust him?"

"I don't see any reason not to. Repliku told me that Hades kept him safe from the Organization. He seems like a good person, so I'm sure he has a good reason to get rid of Hercules."

"The only reason he'd help you is if he's trying to trick you into doing something, like killing Hercules. You know why he wants to do that? So he can take over the world! He's evil!"

"You're lying! That can't be true!"

* * *

Hades watched them talk, on and on… "Why aren't they fighting? What could possibly be so important? You!"

Demyx jumped.

"Y-yeah?"

"Do something!"

"I'm not going down there, I wouldn't stand a chance!"

Hades screamed in rage, his flaming hair turned red and fire roared off of him. Demyx jumped back in fear, and ran off into a dark portal. "Great, now that idiot is gone! Why do I have to do everything myself?" Realizing he was being watched, Hades looked down and realized that Xion and the others had all seen him and Demyx talking. "…Oh no." He teleported down to everyone else. "Ok, I admit it, I was chasing that guy off so he couldn't hurt you guys. If I hadn't, you'd probably be dead now."

Xion glared at Sora.

"See? If he was really evil, then why would he save our lives?"

Hades feigned surprise.

"Hey, hey, who said I was evil, these guys? Like she said, I wouldn't save people if I was evil. And then there's Hercules… well, if I want him dead, there has to be a good reason, right?" He looked at Xion. "After all, he's been destroying cites, unleashing monsters, killed his family, crazy stuff. He's sent a lot of work my way, and frankly, I'm sick of it! That's why I asked you to do this, Xion. You and your friend my be the only ones who can stop him." He glanced at Sora and his friends. "And these three… well, think about it. Why would they help someone like Hercules unless they were just as horrible as him? It's up to you two to stop them. Unfortunately, I can't kill them myself, the other gods hate it when I do that. But that doesn't mean I can't… even the odds." He disappeared in a burst of smoke, and a man holding a giant sword stood in his place.

"My name is Auron. It is the will of Lord Hades that Hercules will die tonight."


End file.
